In-car payments for EV charging can ease some reliability issues

As the automotive industry works to improve charging reliability and availability for EVs, some companies are developing in-vehicle payments to smooth the rough edges around the charging experience.

Payment glitches are a major contributor to unreliability.

Sheeva.AI, EV Connect and Parkopedia, among others, are beginning to bridge the gap from the vehicle infotainment center to the charger. They are creating and supporting the technology that enables drivers to pay for charging from inside the vehicle.

"The less elements you have in the system to activate and pay for charging, the more reliable it is," said Evgeny Klochikhin, CEO of Sheeva.AI.

In-vehicle charging presents a potential fix for one of the many issues plaguing public EV charging. Nearly 1 in 5 charging attempts failed in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to J.D. Power data. ChargerHelp, a company that does EV charger maintenance, found this year that there is "significant, strong positive correlation" between the condition of the payment system and the status of the charger. In other words, chargers with payment system issues are likely to face significant downtime.

Credit card readers and other parts of the payment system must receive and process payment and trigger the charge. The payment system can be the first point of failure.

Akshay Singh, an automotive partner at PwC Strategy&, said that in-vehicle payment is not only nice to have, but necessary.

"I would say that you actually need it so that the drivers can have a seamless [charging] experience," he said.

A Parkopedia global driver survey found 65 percent of American EV drivers want in-car payments for EV charging, and drivers can have as many as eight apps on their phones to find and use chargers.

"The only thing that is consistent across all charging scenarios (home, work, public, on the go) is that the car is involved, and connected either physically or digitally," said Christofer Lloyd, a spokesperson for Parkopedia, in an email.

At the same time, in-vehicle payment systems for charging still have hurdles. Data that tells drivers whether stations are down has to be accurate. Drivers must be able to use different types of payment. Sensitive financial and location data must remain secure. Software in the vehicle and in the charger still need to work together — and vehicle software has to work with different types of chargers.

"That's the biggest challenge: How do you make sure that it's a seamless experience at all kinds of chargers?" Singh said.

Right now, drivers kick money toward in-vehicle payment systems by consuming advertising or paying convenience fees, or merchants pay for software and expect returns as drivers visit charger-adjacent retail sites such as convenient stores or restaurants.

Klochikhin said this model ensures the system is functional.

"We really need to make sure that the user wants to use it, and there is value and there is awareness among users, which is sort of a novel approach when it comes to the automotive industry," he said.